Going back again to this event on the one year anniversary of the solar eclipse. This was a video I put together of my images of each stage. It is fascinating to me to watch it as it progresses, reaches totality and then comes to an end.

When I look back on my photo year, there can be no doubt that the solar eclipse was the single biggest event. It is hard to describe just how extraordinary it was to experience and capture it.

This is one of my favorite stages of the event, just as totality was coming to an end. You see the ‘diamond ring effect’ of the sun beginning to emerge from behind the moon.

Also notable are the appearance of prominences – the pink / red ‘flames’ you see in the image shooting out. These are somewhat like solar flares except they don’t actually leave the surface of the sun. Made of plasma and capable of extending hundreds of thousands of miles from the surface, they are normally only visible from Earth during an eclipse so seeing them is a big treat.

Such a treat to be able to capture not only the eclipse but also this rarely seen part of our Sun. This is actually a sequence of seven images, all taken at different exposures, stacked on top of each other using a technique called HDR – High Dynamic Range. Compiling images that were under, over and properly exposed all together allow a greater level of detail of the corona to be seen in photographs than what would otherwise be possible.

It truly was beautiful to witness in person and this image helps to capture it. Extending thousands of miles from the star’s surface, this area of plasma is the Sun’s outermost atmosphere. It is normally only visible during an eclipse or by using a specialized type of telescope called a coronagraph. The area is actually hotter than the surface of the sun with temperatures up to 18 million degrees Fahrenheit!

This image is available for purchase here.